New Movie About Jesus by Director of "Showgirls." What Could Go Wrong?

A new movie about Jesus is being made by the producer of American Psycho, the director of Showgirls, and the writer of Pulp Fiction.

What could go wrong?

Well, lots. According to Deadline, the movie will be based on a book that director Paul Verhoeven wrote that discounts all the miracles that inform the New Testament. "Verhoeven doesn’t believe any of them happened" writes Deadline.

The book turned movie will declare that Jesus might have been the product of his mother being raped by a Roman soldier, Jesus was not the Son of God, and Jesus was simply a radical who was convinced he would find the kingdom of Heaven on earth.

Ah.

It seems that once again we have the specter of Jesus as political leader rearing his head.

“If you look at the man, it’s clear you have a person who was completely innovative in the field of ethics,” Verhoeven told Deadline. “My own passion for Jesus came when I started to realize that. It’s not about miracles, it’s about a new set of ethics, an openness towards the world, which was anathema in a Roman-dominated world. I believe he was crucified because they felt that politically, he was a dangerous person whose following was getting bigger and bigger. "

Ah yes. The people who surrounded Jesus got it all wrong but 2,000 years later the director of Showgirls divines the truth out of it.

This isn't even anything new -as if we looked to Hollywood for anything new. CS Lewis famously wrote of this line of thinking:

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

I could go on and on about how trying to make Jesus into a political leader is just silliness. But come on, this is the director of Showgirls and Basic Instinct. This is a director whose most famous scene is getting a woman to uncross her legs for a zoom lense. This is a guy who tried to cash in on convincing a tween star to disrobe. This is a stunt. He's not a director. He's PT Barnum. Without all the scruples.

And he wants everyone to be outraged and he wants the media to glorify him as a controversial brilliant artiste and he wants Hollywood to call him daring, and he wants money. Lots. I suspect that in the end, this movie will be a horrible box office bomb. But hey, it might just get an Oscar nomination for Pamela Anderson or whoever he casts in this debacle.

Comments

It’s hard to keep up with all the sacrilege that comes out of Hollywood in order to condemn it all - there’s too much to keep track of. Once again we have cowards picking on Christians who wouldn’t dream of insulting Muslims, who wouldn’t “turn the other cheek.”

Posted by Joseph on Saturday, Jun 23, 2012 9:49 PM (EST):

A few of his films have been Oscar-nominated and a few have been been declared best Dutch films ever. As blasphemous (sacrilegious and heretical, as well) as it is to remove the miracles and divinity from Christ, portraying the ethical standards Christ gave does give rise to a deeper understanding of eternal verities. Jefferson did it in his bible. “The Christian Atheist” did it. Graham Greene eventually went this route. In the end, the moral standards are among the most important points of the Gospel, and, if one searches deep enough, they will eventually come to the realization that Christ is the Son of God.

And your first sentence is misleading. It makes it seem as though Paul Verhoeven did all those things. And American Psycho and Pulp Fiction are both very well-made films.

Posted by Ez on Saturday, Jun 23, 2012 7:56 AM (EST):

When will it end, oh stupid Hollywood?! This makes me so angry! I wish awful things on this Verhoeven narcissist. I’m finding it hard to turn the other cheek. It is the so-called “progressive liberal artist” that is the most closed-minded idiot who doesn’t know how to respect a fellow mans belief- how ironic.
Let them try and mock Islam, they not even dare! But calling Jesus a “political leader”, as in a “politician” is lowest of the low, and stepping on the dignity of Our Lady by saying she was raped?! These people are disgusting, worse than disgusting. Which fairytale planet do these people come from. And how dare they make such vile mockery of the greatest Woman that ever lived.
The only thing slightly cooling my utter outrage and anger, is the belief that our good God is Just, and even if they get away with this rubbish now and make millions, they will have to face their Creator one day. And I don’t want to be in their shoes. God will not be mocked.

Posted by K.C Thomas on Friday, Jun 22, 2012 10:00 AM (EST):

Verhoeven has full freedom to depict Jesus in whichever fashion he thinks. In Europe and America there is “freedom” to wound the religious feelings of believers. Jesus said ” I am the Life, the Truth and the Way” Those who do not believe have freedom not to believe. They , if civilized, will not hurt their fellowmen

Posted by Rose Kalappurakal on Friday, Jun 22, 2012 9:56 AM (EST):

Verhoevens are a special category. They will learn a lesson from Alquedas only. Will he have courage to depict Mohammed in his ways of thought ? Yes, immigration of that community in European countries will change many things Verhoevens will then keep mum

Posted by Dr. Mark on Friday, Jun 22, 2012 8:20 AM (EST):

Aside from my wishes for a return of the inquisition, I wonder when the sequel that chronicles the “sword in hand” tactics of conversion used my Mohammed as well as his effect on the world; in war, butchery, oppression and most of all the propagation of a false faith. Oh, I forgot, only Christians can be villified.

Posted by Rich Dykstra on Friday, Jun 22, 2012 7:16 AM (EST):

According to what I read about Mohammed, a movie about him would be sure to upset a lot of his believers. The movie would have to depict him as a diabetic having diabetic hallucinations about himself and God! That may be, but he was certainly an opportunist who came in contact with Jews and Catholics because he was a traveling merchant. He combined about 90% Jewish beliefs with a few of his own, and then eliminated Jesus by making Him out to be a prophet who came to announce Mohammed’s arrival. He said he was the last GREAT Prophet! Gee, he must have been wrong! Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, said he was the last Great prophet!
I’ll stick with Jesus!

Posted by richT on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 8:36 PM (EST):

i hope he doesn’t forget the part about the apostles and their drug trafficking…then he could have steven segal play simon magus and try to take over the territory, only to have peter-played by nick nolte?-bellow some gibberish which 3000 onlookers feel is cool enough to call it like, tongues, man…

Posted by Nemo on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 8:22 PM (EST):

Funnily enough, the writer of Showgirls has returned to the faith is supposed to be quite an orthodox and conservative catholic.

Posted by ChrisKABA on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 5:35 PM (EST):

Hollywood announces it’s freezer temperature IQ, yet again….

There’s a simple refutation of the “Jesus was a great moral leader, lets leave it at that.”’’

Jesus claimed he was God - there are two possibilities, either He was right, or He was wrong.

If right, then He wasn’t merely some “wonderful ethicist & moral leader.”

If wrong, then He was either insane or a liar, which means He couldn’t have been a “wonderful ethicist & moral leader.”

Posted by Jay on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 4:58 PM (EST):

Became French kings, sorry

Posted by Jay on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 4:57 PM (EST):

I wonder how verhoven will shoehorn the gratuitous sex scenes. Since we all know he was married with kids that exams French kings….or something. I can’t keep up with their theories.

Posted by Captain America on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 4:44 PM (EST):

We expect illumination from Hollywood? HOLLYWOOD?!?!

I get more out of looking at my navel.

Posted by mts1 on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 2:26 PM (EST):

They now have a movie out showing Lincoln as a vampire killer in his off time from lawyering and politicing, so this would be yet one more historical re-write. I bet half the youngsters with no history background come out believing that as fact, not some “Wild Wild West” sci-fi.

On a Tarantino (director of Pulp Fiction) tangent, I always thought if they got him to direct a movie based on the Book of Revelation, as long as he remained doctrinally correct and true to Scripture, what an amazing movie it would be, but instead of that we have this drivel.

Posted by anthony natriano on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 2:06 PM (EST):

they wouldn,t dare talk about mohammed ,the muslims would burn hollywood down,and they know it.Pick on jesus he is a easy target

Posted by Zero on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 1:53 PM (EST):

Y’know, Pulp Fiction can actually be analyzed as an almost Flannery O’Connor-esque redemption tale. That’s most likely not what it was intended to be, but I liked it all the same because of that.

Posted by BGLM on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 1:30 PM (EST):

Having not yet heard about this ridiculous excuse for a movie, I’m caught somewhere dreadful—in that unfortunate place between being glad I’m now informed about it and wishing we wouldn’t squander even a fraction of a millisecond discussing it.

Posted by Fred on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 1:15 PM (EST):

Tim - There are already zombies in there….

“And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”
~ Matthew 27:52-53

Luckily, the other Gospel writers didn’t witness this, or else we might have had a few less Gospels to go by :-)

Posted by Allison on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 1:12 PM (EST):

I remember reading that C.S. Lewis quote years ago and loving it.

Posted by enness on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 11:25 AM (EST):

Is he trying for second worst film ever made, too?

Posted by Charles Robertson on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 9:10 AM (EST):

Verhoeven was also a member of the Jesus Seminar if you remember those clowns.

Posted by Kathleen on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 8:46 AM (EST):

Posted by EBL on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 8:21 AM (EST):So is his next project going to be on the life of Mohammed? “
*******************
I’ve wondered what might happen if Hollywood treated Muslims in films with the same contempt shown to Christians?

Posted by EBL on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 8:21 AM (EST):

So is his next project going to be on the life of Mohammed? Something about how he was just a great leader, but that stuff of God speaking to him was really just a tumor or schizophrenia or something?

Posted by WSquared on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 8:15 AM (EST):

If they’re just going to make stuff up, why don’t they throw some zombies in there. Kids love the zombies these days.

...because if they can do it to Abraham Lincoln, they can do it to Jesus. Oh, wait. Best not give anybody any ideas.

I never understand why these revisions have to be so banal. At least Dan Brown threw in some ridiculousness in his novels like the assassin albino monk.

...and let’s not forget “Opus Dei Monks” (progressives take note: even anti-Catholics who write silly stuff about the Church as Dan Brown has thinks that Latin sounds cool!). But the great part about all this awfulness is that God really does have a sense of humor, and knows how to bring good out of evil and dumb banality: apparently, some folks who saw the movie were curious enough to want to find out what Opus Dei really was. Some of them joined.

Posted by Paul Zummo on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 8:07 AM (EST):

Thee Paul Verhoeven? The acclaimed winner of the 1995 Razzie award for Best Director? Surely the world will be shaken to its very foundation after the tens of tens movie goers attend this groundbreaking feature.

Posted by Tim on Thursday, Jun 21, 2012 7:10 AM (EST):

If they’re just going to make stuff up, why don’t they throw some zombies in there. Kids love the zombies these days. Also, why not make Jesus like an ancient Superman with heat vision the ability to fly? Kids love the Superheroes these days too.

I never understand why these revisions have to be so banal. At least Dan Brown threw in some ridiculousness in his novels like the assassin albino monk.

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